Thailand, December 24

For Christmas/New Years, we decided to head off to Thailand for 2 weeks.

We started in the capital (Bangkok) and celebrated Christmas there. Our hotel was cute and within walking distance to many things. The city has clearly undergone huge development in recent years. There is a very well-functioning public transportation system, with a metro and an airtrain. There is also no shortage of “tuc-tucs”, little 3-wheeled taxis (see http://www.into-asia.com/bangkok/tuktuk/ for more info and pictures). There are also a ZILLION huge malls! You could go there and shop for weeks. In addition, or course there are plenty of vendors on the street selling everything you can imagine and more. Thai massage parlors are everywhere. There are two memories that stand out most about Thailand. First, the smell of food. Food is delicious, it’s cheap, and it’s everywhere. Whether you are walking down the street, in a mall, or wherever, you can smell delicious Thai food cooking. And Thais are always eating, but they’re so thin! It’s amazing. The other thing that stands out is the inordinate number of large middle-aged Western men with very young, beautiful Thai wives. It’s a very intriguing phenomenon that I haven’t seen (at least not to this degree) in other parts of the world. We got a great book, “Thailand Confidential” (written by an ex-pat man who also happens to be married to a Thai woman) that I recommend to anyone who wants to know more about the culture.



It was hot and I was grumpy. But there is a beautiful wat in the background.

This was also the day that I saw a fellow classmate from college at a nearby wat. Very random coincidence on Christmas Eve in Bangkok!